Quotes
The devastation of homes, healthcare and livelihoods is staggering,
Immediately after the ceasefire came into force at 4 a.m., residents of south Lebanon, the southern suburbs of Beirut and the Bekaa (valley) began their return after months of forced displacement,
Urgent work must now begin to ensure this peace is sustained,
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said Humanitarians will keep responding to reach people in need,
said Tom Fletcher, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, on social media platform X Children and families must be able to return to their communities safely, especially those displaced in shelters and host communities. The protection of children and their families must remain at the heart of all efforts to stabilize the situation and support recovery,
There is genuine hope that the ceasefire deal will last, although many question marks remain,
wrote Daniel Byman, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service An Israeli-Hezbollah ceasefire would be a significant and welcome success,
wrote Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former US diplomat After October 7, Israel is far less trusting of deterrence and more of a believer in keeping its enemies weak,
Now I think the political and geopolitical stars are both aligned and we’re going to see what we can do over the next 50, whatever days it is,
Irony of ironies it might well fall apart on Trump’s watch,
Peace is not the silence of cemeteries / Peace is not the silent result of violent repression”
As Óscar Romero, the martyred Salvadoran bishop, once wrote Even its imperfect implementation in 2006 brought over 16 years of relative peace and stability. Both sides are ready for that."
Resolution 1701 was often criticized, Abercrombie-Winstanley pointed out To get around the issue, media reports had suggested that the US would issue a letter supporting Israel's right to act,
The (Israeli army) will be able to move more units back to Gaza, and definitely this might bring a change,
he said, hoping it would push Hamas to release the hostages A deal could then take time and the war could become a frozen conflict,
Ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza is only for one purpose: to release hostages,
he told AFP, referring to the 97 people - some of them already dead - still held in Gaza after being kidnapped during the October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel Israel feels like it’s in a position more than any other time to keep Iran weak and vulnerable, and to try and keep the pressure up further on its nuclear program,
It was clear to the (Israeli) army from the minute that they escalated against Hezbollah that it wanted to limit the operation because the cost could be much higher than the utility,
Israel needs to seize the moment and really get the American administration on board to deal with Iran,
Nothing less than the full and unwavering commitment of both parties is required,
said UN special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert
